


Rubble and Concern

by shnuffeluv



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo Card [8]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Broken Bones, Concussions, Earthquakes, Established Relationship, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-08-23 17:45:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16623551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shnuffeluv/pseuds/shnuffeluv
Summary: McGee gets buried in rubble while trying to help a girl in the middle of an earthquake. Whatever is he gonna do?





	Rubble and Concern

McGee didn't know what possessed him to do it. The ground beneath them was shaking violently, and everyone was scrambling for cover, and there was a girl in the middle of the room crying, while the floor above them in the building shook. He lunged forward from the wall, pushing the kid into the ground and shielding her with his body just as the ceiling crumbled and gave way to the floor above.

There was the sensation of falling, and then everything was still. McGee's ears were ringing, and he could feel more than hear the girl underneath him crying. He tried to sit up and soothe her, but found that he was pinned down not only by his legs, but also around most of his torso. "Hey, it's gonna be okay," McGee said, rubbing the girl's back best he could when he couldn't move to even see her. "We'll be out of here soon enough."

Only problem was, he didn't know where "here" was. He knew that the floor must have given way beneath him and the girl as the floor above them fell, which was no surprise considering how much force would have hit the floor at once. But other than that, he had no clue what was going on. How far down they were, how much rubble they had to be covered in, how long it would take for them to get out.

As the ringing in McGee's ears started to subside, he could hear the girl underneath him still crying, but mostly sniffles. "Hey, can you hear me?" he asked her, afraid to move his head lest it disturb the rubble above them and crush them both.

After a minute, he got a small, "Mm-hm."

"My name's Tim," McGee said. "I'm a...well, I'm kinda like a policeman. Are you hurt at all?"

"No," the girl said. "Not really."

"Good," McGee said, relief filling him. "I was worried there for a minute. The ceiling really could have hurt if it fell on you."

"It hit you," the girl said softly. "'Cause you blocked it from me. Do you hurt?"

"Only a little," McGee said. He could feel his head swimming and he didn't mention that his legs were pinned, possibly crushed. He didn't want to scare the girl more than she already was. "I'm more worried about you than me."

The girl made a displeased noise. "You're the one who's got all the ceiling on your back."

"Yeah, and I'm on top of you," McGee pointed out.

"Only enough to block the ceiling from hitting me, I can get out from under you, see?"

The girl moved into his field of vision, and he took the chance to get a good look at her. Bright red hair, blue eyes, and freckles. She looked like she could have jumped right out of an  _American Girl_  magazine, if she weren't covered in dirt. "You look hurt," she said.

"I'm a policeman, remember?" McGee asked. "I'm used to sometimes getting hurt while making sure kids like you are safe."

"Your legs are caught," the girl said, squinting.

"Okay, that I'm not used to," McGee said with a pained grin. "But I'm okay with it, because it means you're okay."

The girl sat there in front of him, before looking around. "My mommy is probably looking for me," she said as if she were talking about the weather.

"That's good, it means someone might find us sooner," McGee said.

They sat there in silence for a bit. It was dark, and McGee felt a strain of worry enter him as he realized he was losing feeling in his legs. That was not a good sign in the slightest, and he was feeling very tired. "It's dark," the girl said suddenly.

"It is," McGee said. "I think there's a lot of stuff on top of us keeping the light from getting in."

"We are getting out of here, right?" the girl asked.

"'Course we are," McGee said. "It might take a bit, but we will."

They continued to talk. Every time McGee thought the girl was done talking and he was starting to drift off to sleep again, she'd wake him up with one question or another. One part of him was glad--sleeping with a concussion was bad news if no one was there to check on you. But most of him was annoyed, because he was exhausted.

Hours later, there was the sound of movement around them, and McGee blearily looked around. The girl had fallen asleep not long ago and he wasn't that far off himself. "Hey!" he yelled. "We need some help here!"

The screaming hurt his voice, but it got the job done. There was the sound of scrambling and soon enough rubble was being moved around them. He kept yelling, and the girl joined in when she woke up and realized what was going on. McGee was slowly running out of steam, and soon his yelling tapered off into whimpers as his head throbbed.

Suddenly his legs were under fire from pins and needles, and he almost screamed. He definitely blacked out from the pain, because the next thing he knew, someone was none-too-lightly slapping his face and his eyelids fluttered open to see Torres and Reeves hovering over him. He huffed and smiled. "Hi, boys," he mumbled. "Is the girl okay?"

"She's fine, Tim," Reeves said. "You're going to need a trip to the hospital, though. At least one of your legs is broken."

McGee shook his head. "Worth it. She's okay."

Torres shook his head. "Don't ever do that again, man. That earthquake was huge and you fell two stories."

"I'll try not to," McGee chuckled. "But I make no promises if there's a kid nearby."

Reeves shook his head and helped Torres pick McGee up and carry him to the closest ambulance outside. "We'll be seeing you shortly, stay awake for us!" Reeves instructed.

"Mm-hm," McGee nodded, even as he was quickly falling asleep.

When McGee woke up next, it was to two men arguing in the room around him. His forehead creased, and he mumbled a plea for them to stop, which seemed to shut them both up very quickly. Unfortunately, then the talking increased, closer to him, asking him to open his eyes, to say something again. McGee forced one eye opened and mumbled, "'M tryin' to sleep."

"You've been asleep eighteen hours, mate, I'm personally just glad that you have yet to die," Reeves said.

"Yeah, man, do you have any idea what the doctors have been saying? They were worried you were slipping into a coma!" Torres added.

"Aw, you like me enough to worry about that?" McGee asked, grinning lazily.

"Shut up," Torres said with a blush. "Gibbs will be back any time and I don't want you letting him know about us."

McGee rolled his eyes. "I think he already knows," he mumbled.

"Probably," Reeves said, "But I'm not ready for that shovel talk, so I think we'd both like it if you didn't act like you were drugged."

McGee blinked quickly a couple times, turning to his left to see a bag with an IV drip going into his arm. "I  _am_  drugged," he said.

"Only with mild painkillers," Torres said. "You broke your leg trying to play hero."

"Hey, I saved that girl," McGee retorted. "I wasn't  _playing_  at anything."

Gibbs walked into the room with coffee in hand, but hung back by the door. "No, you weren't," he said. "And if you ever do that again, you will be answering to me, understand?"

"Much as I can on painkillers, Boss," McGee said, wincing. His head felt like it was being ripped open. "Wanna sleep more."

Gibbs sighed. "Fine. But do us all a favor and wake up in the next six to eight hours at most, or your boyfriends might start a riot."

Torres' and Reeves' faces were priceless as Gibbs walked back out. McGee just giggled inanely until he eventually passed out again.

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